Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-04-01
TERRORS OF SCIENCE.

How "a Man Can be Made an Innocent
acknowledgements Cure for Dumbness.
Philadelphia North American.
Is it 8 crime 10 kill an innocent human
being?
Does that question startIe you? You
answer vehemenentIy, "Yes'
Are you sure il always is? You are
thinking of the exceptions of hanging
murderers and the like. Bear in mind
said an innocent humon being. You
would answer, ayes, under any circum-
stances"
Another question, then. Is it always a
crime, morally or in any other sense, to
permit an innocent human creature to die
when it is in ones power to save his CT
her life?
You answer eyes" with still greater
emphasis, but do you know that argu-
ments on the negative side of both ques-
tions are being earnestly urged by some
scientists, physicians and laWyers2
The doctors ask: as it right for US to
save an infant which will be a freak,
when, If we leave 1t to the tender merCies
of nature, it would surely die? Is it
right for Us to employ our, skill to pre-
serve the life of child when we can see
by its form that it will live to be an idiot?
We ask this question for the sake of the
child itself, for the sake of it's parents, for
the sake of our state and our nation, for
the sake of happiness and humanity.
When merciful heaven would leave the
poor, deformed creatures to die, are We
not doing moral wrong and degenerating
the world by saving them?"
Oh! what terrible people these scient-
lists. How ruthlessly they tremple down
our tenderest sentiments! But are our
tender sentiments false?
Now they are more terrible, for the in
slant our horror at their thoughts begins
to diminish they take the next step.
"Is it not then our duty" they ask,
"to simply kill these freaks that are find
ing their way into the world and that
would live without our help?"
"YOu dutiful, cruel, Cold-blooded,
heartless murderersi" we cry. But our
horror doesn't affect them in the least.
isn't it BETTER" they continue, "to
prevent their living, then, when it would
not cause a pang of pain, when otherwise
they might live life of misery and be q
disgrace to mankind, and burden upon
society; when they may grow up to be
criminals and possibly murderers?"
But you and l say, "You would be
DpGuluS Tic UNOI W SlilI SE6SlSI CIluSS.
We are willing to let nature take her
course, but we count your powers to
save life as part of the course, and we
will not permit you to be the judge O..
life and death"
Nevertheless | know Of several most
learned, honorable and earnest minded
men wao believe that the state should
grant this authority to the medical pro-
fession.
Science presents great many fearful
questions to our minds. DR.. Hammond
of New York, has presented a new one
as result OF his study and practice
of hypnotIsm. He simply took q
young msn of good character and health
and transformed him into an IN
conscious criminal. He says. "Hypnot-
ism (Which he calls syggignoscism) is q
condition of automatism in which acts
are performed without the conscious will
of tie subject" To you and me il means
little more than mesmerism. In the ex-
periments on the young man in question,
Dr. Hammond said he found that he
could keep him in that condition for two
years if he chose, and make him
commit any crime by q simple COM
mand. This much you and have seen,
but DR.. Hammond says that nearly any
one can acquire the power, and that
''after a while We will find q class of
sharpers who know how to use this
influence, and will employ the innocent
as instruments of their unlawful
schemes, while they, the real perpetra-
tors, remain invisible to the eye of the
law and secure from detection"
1t is a new crime made possible by
science, and Dr. Hammond thinks it calls
for legislative action.
But these discoveries must work more